Coherence



Synonym

  1. Coherence, a fixed relationship between the phase of waves in a beam of radiation of a single frequency. Two beams of light are coherent when the phase difference between their waves is constant; they are noncoherent if there is a random or changing phase relationship. Stable interference patterns.
  2. COHERENCE, Vol 1, Issue 1 February 14, 2021, by Stephen Elliott, Life Scientist, COHERENCE Breathing through the nose vs. The mouth has been a topic of significant interest and discussion in the last few years, this subject being treated thoroughly by Patrick McKeown and James Nestor in their books, The Oxygen Advantage, and Breath, respectively.

'Coherence' was produced on a shoestring. You can tell. It's shot with multiple video cameras, often wildly, and while much of the overlapping dialogue is comprehensible, some sinks into audio muck. A lot of the action in this night-set film is confined to the interior of the house. When the characters venture outdoors, it's hard to tell what's going on because you can barely see the actors. That the comet has allegedly wrought havoc with electricity only partly excuses this. Even on a moonless night in a forest, your eyes adjust.

CoherenceCoherence

Amazingly, though, none of the movie's technical or artistic shortcomings prove to be deal breakers. Once 'Coherence' delves into its premise, the viewer is bound to come down with a bad case of the creeps. This is a less-is-more science fiction-horror tale, indebted to the original 'The Twilight Zone' (particularly 'The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street') as well Luis Bunuel's 'The Exterminating Angel,' as well as certain recent science fiction indies that I won't name here because I did, you'd immediately deduce the film's first big twist. (Spoilers start in the next paragraph.) And it's genuinely more of a horror film than a suspense or 'terror' film because, while there's some violence, the source of unease is philosophical. The characters are frightened by what they don't know, then by the implications of what they've been able to figure out. What's being threatened in 'Coherence' is who they are, or what they think they are; not just the integrity of their bodies (though that's at risk, too) but their identities.

The quality or state of cohering, especially a logical, orderly, and aesthetically consistent relationship of parts. Physics The property of being coherent, as of waves.

This is an ensemble movie, but its closest thing to a protagonist is Em (Emily Foxler, who has a great reactive face), a dancer whose career has suffered an unspecified setback. Em shows up at the party with her boyfriend Kevin (Maury Sterling of “Homeland”) who proceeds to add tension to the evening by offering up an anecdote involving his ex-girlfriend Laurie (Lauren Maher), who's also a guest. Also on hand is Mike (Nicholas Brendon of 'Buffy') whose greatest performance might be as a guy who isn't depressed and irritated that nobody remembers that he starred on 'Roswell.' There's a pagan cleric type named Beth (Elizabeth Gracen), and a tall, volatile, bearded guy named Hugh (Hugo Armstrong) who keeps trying to contact a friend who seems to have inside knowledge of all the strange goings-on (disrupted cell phone service, power outages and the like).

In each paragraph of an essay, one particular idea or topic is developed and explained. In order to successfully do so, however, it is essential that the paragraph be written in a unified and coherent manner.

A unified paragraph must follow the idea mentioned in the topic sentence and must not deviate from it. For a further explanation on topic sentences, see the Write Right on Topic Sentences.

A coherent paragraph has sentences that all logically follow each other; they are not isolated thoughts. Coherence can be achieved in several ways. First, using transitions helps connect ideas from one sentence to the next. For more on transitions, see the Write Right on Transitions. Second, ordering thoughts in numerical sequence helps to direct the reader from one point to the next. Third, structuring each paragraph according to one of the following patterns helps to organize sentences: general to particular; particular to general; whole to parts; question to answer; or effect to cause.

Remember that a paragraph should have enough sentences so that the main idea of the topic sentence is completely developed. Generalizations should be supported with examples or illustrations. Also, details and descriptions help the reader to understand what you mean. Don't ever assume that the reader can read your mind: be specific enough to develop your ideas thoroughly, but avoid repetition

An effective paragraph might look like this:

It is commonly recognized that dogs have an extreme antagonism toward cats. This enmity between these two species can be traced back to the time of the early Egyptian dynasties. Archaeologists in recent years have discovered Egyptian texts in which there are detailed accounts of canines brutally mauling felines. Today this type of cruelty between these two domestic pets can be witnessed in regions as close as your own neighborhood. For example, when dogs are walked by their masters (and they happen to catch sight of a stray cat), they will pull with all their strength on their leash until the master is forced to yield; the typical result is that a feline is chased up a tree. The hatred between dogs and cats has lasted for many centuries, so it is unlikely that this conflict will ever end.

Coherence

This paragraph is effective for the following reasons:

  1. The paragraph shows unity. All the sentences effectively relate back to the topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph.
  2. The paragraph shows coherence. There is a flow of thoughts and ideas among the sentences in this paragraph. There are good transitions employed in the paragraph. The writer also presents her sub-topics in an orderly fashion that the reader can follow easily.
  3. The paragraph is developed. The writer gives herself enough space to develop the topic. She gives us at least two reasons to accept her argument and incorporates some examples in order to give those reasons more validity.
Synonym

Reference: Strunk, Wiliam Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed., Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Coherence Cardiaque

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